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Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Magnetic Silk Microparticles for Focused Drug Supply


What if medical doctors may information life-saving remedies by the physique utilizing nothing however a magnet?

An interdisciplinary group on the College of Pittsburgh’s Swanson Faculty of Engineering is working to make that concept a actuality. They’ve developed silk iron microparticles (SIMPs)—tiny, magnetic, biodegradable carriers designed to ship medication and coverings on to particular websites within the physique, similar to aneurysms or tumors.

Magnetic Silk Microparticles for Focused Drug Supply
Scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs of MPs. Consultant (c) excessive and (d) low magnification photographs depict SIMPs with IONPs conjugated with GSH. Picture Credit score: College of Pittsburgh

The trouble is led by Pitt alumna Ande Marini (BioE PhD ‘25), now a postdoctoral scholar in cardiothoracic surgical procedure at Stanford College, alongside David Vorp, John A. Swanson Professor of Bioengineering, and Justin Weinbaum, analysis assistant professor of bioengineering.

Their findings, titled “Chemical Conjugation of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for the Improvement of Magnetically Directable Silk Particles” (DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c17536), had been printed within the February version of ACS Utilized Supplies & Interfaces.

Marini and her colleagues had been motivated by their lab’s ongoing work to enhance therapy choices for stomach aortic aneurysms (AAA), a situation that may be deadly if left untreated and contributes to just about 10,000 deaths yearly.

Their method focuses on noninvasive, early-stage supply of regenerative therapies utilizing extracellular vesicles—small, membrane-bound capsules that assist cells talk.

We wish to discover a solution to ship extracellular vesicles to the positioning of an stomach aortic aneurysm within the least invasive approach potential. We envisioned that we may inject extracellular vesicles onto a provider after which by some means information the provider to the skin of the aortic wall, so we got here up with the thought of utilizing magnetic attraction.

David A. Vorp, Division of Bioengineering, College of Pittsburgh

To deliver that concept to life, the group partnered with Mostafa Bedewy, affiliate professor of mechanical engineering and supplies science on the Swanson Faculty, and his former Ph.D. pupil, Golnaz Tomaraei (IE PhD ‘23).

Their experience in nanomaterials and fabrication was important in producing the magnetic nanoparticles, every simply one-hundred-thousandth the width of a human hair. At that scale, supplies behave in another way, taking over properties like magnetic responsiveness.

Our position was to synthesize magnetic nanoparticles with the best properties and bond them to the silk so they’d keep hooked up throughout motion. You’ll be able to consider it like towing cargo we created the particles to hold medication, and the nanoparticles are the tow hook.

Mostafa Bedewy, Division of Mechanical Engineering and Supplies Science, College of Pittsburgh

Whereas magnetically guideable supplies have been utilized in medical purposes earlier than, what units this work aside is the chemical bonding of the magnetic particles to silk—a biocompatible materials already accredited by the FDA—utilizing the compound glutathione.

We bridged biomaterials and chemical conjugation to create particles that might be magnetically guided. By chemically bonding iron oxide nanoparticles to the regenerated silk fibroin, we enhanced their magnetic movability so we will probably localize them externally to a website of curiosity within the physique.

Ande X. Marini, Division of Bioengineering, College of Pittsburgh

This breakthrough opens up a variety of future prospects, from focused most cancers remedies to regenerative therapies for heart problems. The speedy subsequent step can be loading these carriers with therapeutic brokers.

Marini mentioned, “With this paper, we’re exhibiting that we will create an empty provider that may be magnetically moved. The subsequent step is determining what sort of cargo we will load, regenerative elements, medication, or different supplies individuals wish to magnetically localize. Whether or not it’s delivering most cancers medication with fewer negative effects or slowing down tissue degradation in aneurysms, this expertise has broad potential for regenerative drugs.”

For Bedewy’s group, this additionally means persevering with to refine the molecular construction of the particles and optimizing how they launch their cargo over time.

Bedewy mentioned, “We try to create a toolbox of remedies, and in supplies science, there may be numerous room for making extra instruments that may be helpful for medical medical doctors and bioengineers to assist create other ways of resolving issues within the physique. That is an thrilling challenge the place individuals with very completely different units of experience got here collectively to unravel an issue and produce an final result that might probably have an immense affect on human lives.”

Journal Reference:

‌Marini, A. X., et al. (2025) Chemical Conjugation of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for the Improvement of Magnetically Directable Silk Particles. ACS Utilized Supplies & Interfaces. doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c17536.

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